A statutory license is a license to make specified uses of certain kinds of copyrighted works that Congress grants in a statute. The statute may specify the terms of the license, such as a requirement to pay a royalty and the manner of calculating the amount of the royalty that must be paid. Congress has […]
What are statutory licenses? Read More »
A copyright license usually will remain in effect even if ownership of the copyright is transferred to someone else.
What happens to a license if the copyright owner transfers ownership to someone else? Read More »
Yes, a copyright license may be either exclusive or nonexclusive.
Can a copyright license be made exclusive? Can it be made nonexclusive? Read More »
Yes. A copyright owner may grant a license of any or all of the rights of copyright ownership. The grant may include all of the copyright owner’s rights, only one of the owner’s rights, or a specified subset of the owner’s rights. Thus, for example, a copyright owner might grant a licensee the right to
Can the rights of copyright ownership be unbundled and licensed separately? Read More »
No. Recordation of a copyright transfer or license can be advantageous, but it is not mandatory
Do copyright transfers and licenses have to be recorded in the Copyright Office? Read More »
An exclusive copyright license must be in writing. Nonexclusive licenses can be oral, but a writing is strongly recommended.
Does a copyright license need to be in writing? Read More »
Yes. A copyright owner may grant a license to another person or persons (including corporate “persons”) to use the work. The license may specify the kinds of uses the licensee is permitted to make.
Can a copyright owner grant a license to others to use the work? Read More »
If you are not sure if a use you want to make of a work is fair use, the safest course is to secure permission from the copyright owner. Copyright litigation can be expensive and there are a lot of gray areas in fair use law. Gambling on a favorable judicial decision on fair use
What should I do if I’m not sure if a use I want to make of a work is fair use? Read More »
Showing a movie for entertainment purposes may require a license. A license may not be necessary, though, if the showing is for educational purposes, it is part of face-to-face teaching activities in a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar location devoted to educational instruction, and the copy of the movie being shown was
Creative Commons-licensed works are not necessarily in the public domain. A work with a “CC0 ” (CC Zero) dedication may have the effect of dedicating it to the public domain. Other kinds of Creative Commons licenses, however, do not have that effect. Creative Commons “share alike” licenses, such as CC BY-SA 2.5 ,might authorize sharing
Are Creative-Commons-licensed works in the public domain? Read More »
